Spending Time Together

When I saw my sister push her luggage cart towards us at the airport, tears welled up in my eyes. Its been 5 years since we saw her last.

Keeping in touch over phone and e-mails apart, there's nothing like being together and spending time together. Doing special things for her is giving me so much joy.

She loves good food. Loves to eat outside. Vadai, bonda, parattha, phulkas and pulao are among her favourites.
How much fun she had last time, eating bondas and cutlets at the woodlands drive-in on her last visit. We shopped at Spencer's but ate at Woodlands on our way back home. She is so sad that it does not exist anymore. We will still visit to see the landscape and the trees in the new garden in its place.

I had planned to take her to maximum possible hotels within the 3 weeks she will stay with us. Chennai is bursting with so many places to try out good food.
The must-eat places which I must take her at least once are
Hotel Saravana Bhavan which I took her to yesterday itself. Each had a single bonda, vada and idli. She loved the sambar and the chutneys. I have always liked their strong filter coffee (with sugar :D).

She was amazed at the change with so many new buildings which have come up on most roads. She was clueless about roads and streets. It is for this reason I have decided never to let her go alone by herself in Chennai. I or someone will always be there to take her around. I remember the most pleasurable days I spent at her place in Ottawa in 1991. She took such good care of me. Even now I think I love Canada as a place to visit. Perhaps that was my first trip abroad and one loves the first place one sees.
Someone told me he loved London though he had visited USA and australia too. That is because London was the first place he visited.
Back to the places we will be visiting every evening, if possible, to try speaciality tiffins.

Grand Snacks for their hot and fresh boli and appams, etc.
Adayar Ananda Bhavan for ditto ditto.
Sri Krishna for their great tiffin combos which offer many varieties in one shot.
Sri Krishna's 'Rasam' restaurant for dinner one day.
Sanjeevani for a lovely, fresh and sattwic fare on offer is a must.
For that superb Hyderabadi Dum Biryani at Swati, Saravana Bhavan, Mylapore.
To the Pizza Hut for their crunchy, tasty pizza, breads and garden salad.
Nathan's one day for lunch perhaps.
Mathsya not to be missed time permitting.

The finale will be a lunch or dinner at the Copper Point at GRT Grand, a good place to eat at. The food is great there.

She has a big shopping list - to buy gold at GRT, clothes at Westend, kitchen ware at Rathna's, etc. I will have to juggle with hotels to fit in with her shopping list and areas she will have to visit. It requires a master plan indeed to do all of that.
There will some people who might invite her out to dinner or lunch.

Happy thinking of the happy times together.

Cheers.
Mahalakshmi.